SCROLL Actions de Solidarité Internationale (ASI) has been working in sub-Saharan Africa since 1983, providing care for young girls involved in survival prostitution. ASI has been present in the Republic of Congo since 2007, where our NGO runs a support programme for vulnerable young girls living on the streets and in survival prostitution, using our day centres and accommodation. This programme helps to improve the living conditions of more than 400 young girls and 100 children each year, through training and professional integration. Since 2017, we have also been supporting women and children who are victims of violence through one-stop shops, which have already enabled us to help 800 victims. In 2023, ASI will be extending its programme to Libreville in Gabon. Our partnership with the Air France Foundation enables us to transport our teams between France and the countries where we work. The son of our beneficiary Graciane is the best witness to our action. Opération Sourire: the story of Brice-Lane In Madagascar, children suffering from malformations, in particular cleft lip and palate, struggle to receive treatment due to a lack of resources and available care. Often stigmatised, their mental health and that of their families is also affected. Brice-Lane was born with a birth defect. In October 2022, he underwent his second operation as part of Médecins du Monde’s Opération Sourire, a medical, surgical and psychosocial programme that has been running for 25 years. Since 2013, the Moto Action association, supported by the Humanitarian Sponsorship of the Air France Corporate Foundation, has been setting up therapeutic artistic mediation activities to enable young HIV-positive children and teenagers to express their emotions, feelings and difficulties in a different way, and to encourage better compliance with their antiretroviral treatment. Putting words to what ails you, facing up to the outside world but also your fears, letting out your hopes but also your sorrows and bereavements, are all necessary if you are to live with HIV and manage your status as calmly as possible. SCROLL During the March 2023 mission of Enfants Du Noma in Vientiane Laos (South-East Asia). Among the 55 young patients treated, the team welcomed 6-year-old Mei from Luang Prabang in the north of the country. Mei and her parents had travelled more than 500 km to come to our clinic. She had a facial cleft crossing the lip and part of the palate, and in addition to the cosmetic problems, her eating and speech had been impaired since birth. During this mission, we were able to take charge of her and surgically correct this malformation. Mei stayed in hospital with us for a few days while we took care of her after the operation. She and her parents were then able to return home. SCROLL I’m a nurse and I took part in my first mission with Pediatricians of the World in 2010 in Cambodia, when I was a student, and then in 2011 as a young graduate in Morocco. Those weeks spent with the teams of pediatricians, midwives and nurses gave me the desire to continue in this way and to do my utmost for all our little patients. I also went to Burkina Faso with another association for a longer period. In January 2023, I went back to Benin with Pédiatres du Monde to support the local teams in the Applahoué region in the hospital and health centres. Training them in the equipment in place, working with them at the patient’s bedside. The NGO Pédiatres du Monde listens to the requests of its local partners and does its utmost to meet them. It calls on the skills of its members and candidates wishing to volunteer. In this way, I have been able to pass on my knowledge and experience to these professionals who are looking to confirm and strengthen their skills. I also take part in fund-raising events and I’ll be going on another mission with Pédiatres du Monde as soon as possible!» Pauline - Nurse SCROLL Karim, age 4, arrived in February at the children’s cancer ward run by Dr. Chantal Bouda at the Yalgado Ouédraogo Hospital in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) with an imposing mass on his face. The illness had started 4 months earlier with a toothache. Living in a province of Côte d’Ivoire, the family had been to a community facility several times, then a district hospital 2 hours drive from their home. As the cancer progressed - Burkitt’s lymphoma, the most common form of cancer in Africa and yet little known - his parents moved back to their native Burkina Faso. A week later, Karim was admitted to the oncology unit in Ouagadougou. “His overall condition was very poor, with a huge, hemorrhagic, infected mass and difficulty breathing and eating,” explains Dr. Chantal Bouda. The infection was treated, the anemia corrected and renutrition started. His cancer treatment began in March. He received his fourth round of chemotherapy at the beginning of April. Karim’s journey is a familiar one in Africa. “But there’s nothing inevitable about it,” maintains Dr. Bouda. If the diagnosis is made quickly and correctly, most African children with cancer can survive, just as they do in Europe! GFAOP Groupe Franco-Africain Pédiatrique SCROLL « When Faith, just one year old, started having convulsions, one of the most dangerous symptoms of undernutrition, her mother, Rahema, thought it was too late. In desperation, she hurriedly left her baby to go to the nearest health centre run by Action contre la Faim. Faith was rushed to the hospital run by Action contre la Faim, where she was diagnosed with acute malnutrition, malaria and pneumonia » Today, 828 million people in the world suffer from hunger. Action contre la Faim is an international humanitarian NGO that has been fighting hunger in the world for almost 40 years. Action contre la Faim is particularly active in treating and preventing undernutrition, improving access to drinking water, combating food insecurity, improving access to healthcare and helping people affected by crises. « Action contre la Faim wants to guarantee inclusive access to health services and help people to detect undernutrition earlier thanks to the bracelet for early measurement of the child’s brachial perimeter. » ONE JOURNEY FOR TWO LIVES Zain, age 5, and Yazan, age 3, are two brothers from Syria, each suffering from cyanogenic congenital heart disease. Thanks to our solid local network in Syria, coordination between teams from Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, Aviation Without Borders and Marie Lannelongue Hospital, and the immense generosity of the host family, these two brothers were able to be treated together and were never separated. They arrived in May 2022 aboard flight AF 529, kindly donated by the Air France Foundation. Zain and Yazan were able to depend on each other throughout their journey. These two brothers were greatly loved by their host family, for whom this was an intense first experience. They left a lot of memories behind. Their host dad didn’t even want to clean the boys’ fingerprints off the window! The surgery was successful. The boys have been transformed and have returned to school in Syria. They keep in touch regularly and seeing them grow together is the best reward of all. MECENAT CHIRURGIE CARDIAQUE Première Urgence Internationale is committed to supporting the most vulnerable populations affected by humanitarian crises. In a single year, more than 180 projects are deployed, reaching over 6 million beneficiaries. The NGO’s aim is to provide a comprehensive response to all the basic needs of disaster-stricken populations, enabling them to regain their independence and dignity. PREMIERE URGENCE INTERNATIONALE Day after day, Secours Populaire, an association recognised as being in the public interest, works here and elsewhere to create a fairer and more caring world, enabling everyone to become independent and find their place as a citizen, wherever they live, work or study. SECOURS POPULAIRE S.A.S.F. uses the aeronautical skills of its members to serve humanitarian causes, without regard to any ideological, political, racial or religious considerations; emergency medical evacuation of patients and parturients from developing countries to remote areas by air; aid for the transport of NGOs, doctors and members of the medical profession who need to operate in operational environments that are difficult to access by normal means, or even inaccessible in the rainy season; creation of airstrips in the bush, in the mountains and in the mountains of the South; creation of airstrips in the north of the country, doctors and members of the medical profession who have to operate in operational environments that are difficult to access by the usual means, or even inaccessible in the rainy season; creation of airstrips in the bush, in close collaboration with the official services of the countries concerned. Secours aérien sans frontières Founded in 1964, Inserm is a public scientific and technological establishment under the dual authority of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Research. Dedicated to biological, medical and human health research, it covers the entire spectrum from the research laboratory to the patient’s bedside. On the international stage, it is the partner of the largest institutions involved in the challenges and scientific advances in these fields. INSERM The French Red Cross works to unconditionally protect and support people in vulnerable situations and to build their resilience together with them. Its mission is to participate in all efforts to protect, prevent, educate, and take social and health action. FRENCH RED CROSS SCROLL Testimonial 1 + photo of Vasline with her foster family in 2011. Speaking to RFI, Vasline gives a moving account of her experience with La Chaîne de l’Espoir in 2011. When she was 7, her parents found out she had a heart defect, and their world fell apart. It would be impossible for them to finance this operation. But La Chaîne de l’Espoir gave them hope: an operation was scheduled in France. “When we spoke about La Chaîne de l’Espoir, my mom and whole family smiled again.” 12 years later, Vasline has precious memories of her Parisian adventure with her host family: “I stayed in Paris for 3 months and was welcomed by some lovely people; I’ll never forget them. It was wonderful.” Since then, she has resumed her life and found her vocation: she is a medical student at the University of Brazzaville: “I see the world differently because I am the same as everyone else now.” Testimonial 2 + post-operation photo of Asseta (2023): Little Asseta from Burkina Faso suffered from a serious heart condition. According to the teams at Tengandogo Hospital in Ouagadougou, there was only one way to save her with the support of La Chaîne de l’Espoir: bring her to France for an operation as soon as possible. The trip saved her life! “We hosted Asseta for a month and a half in Nantes, where she underwent surgery. We are delighted to have contributed to her rebirth. She arrived very tired and frightened, but she left full of energy. She’s put on weight, she’s growing and going to school. Today, she’s five years old, doing well and has a great life ahead of her! Pascale Girard-Louault, host family CHAINE DE L’ESPOIR SCROLL The institute deals with neurological and psychiatric pathologies in childhood and adolescence. The “brain diseases” people most often think of are Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. And yet, eleven of the diseases studied at the Institut du Cerveau present mainly in childhood or adolescence. The neurological diseases that begin in infants, children and adolescents vary widely, ranging from epilepsy to movement disorders such as dystonia, as well as neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders such as Tourette’s syndrome. The appearance of the first symptoms, often impressive in children, is a source of concern for those around them and raises questions about development and treatment. 80% of pediatric neurological diseases have a genetic origin. Diagnosis is crucial to managing the disease, but is a major challenge for doctors because of the difference in symptoms observed from one patient to another. At the Institut du Cerveau, 14 research teams are working to understand the causes of these pathologies, identify biomarkers to aid diagnosis and develop treatments. Key figures: -1 in 120 young people under the age of 20 has a neurological or psychiatric disorder that can disrupt their daily lives. -Did you know, for example, that: o More than 300,000 young people under the age of 20 suffer from epilepsy o 800,000 have obsessive-compulsive disorders o There are more than 170,000 cases of depression. ICM Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière SCROLL 1/ Eyerus, 14, young girl from Ethiopia In the photo, Eyerus is seated on the right. She is sitting next to Tadella, also a member of the girls’ group. “I heard a rumour that my father had accepted a marriage proposal,” recalls 14-year-old Eyerus. “I was very depressed and angry when I heard the news. Why do I have to get married? I didn’t want to stop going to school.” She is in 8th grade and her favourite subject is geography. In her spare time, she looks after her family or reads a book. She spoke to the principal of her school, who runs one of the girls’ groups supported by CARE. In these groups, members of the community come together to discuss, question and transform social norms and traditions. Eyerus then confronted her father Derso, 51, with the rumour. He told her that the reason for the marriage was to strengthen family ties. Eyerus then negotiated until her father accepted her arguments. He cancelled the marriage proposal and returned the 7,000 Ethiopian birr (around 133 euros) he had already received from the family. “I realised that our community had to change and that this was the only possible outcome,” explains Derso, looking proudly at his daughter. He agreed to let his daughter go back to school. “Today, I even tell my neighbours that it’s important for girls to continue their education.” “It was good for me to able to convince my father to change his mind. I learned to negotiate from the girls’ group. I also learned to have confidence in myself and be aware of the consequences of child marriage,” explains Eyerus. CARE runs girls’ groups in these communities that teach girls life skills through discussion sessions. The girls get together and sit on small stones in a large circle. Air France Humanitarian Aid has been supporting CARE France for almost 10 years in its fight against extreme poverty and for access to education. 2/ Fatima’s daughter, Lebanon Tripoli is the poorest city on the Mediterranean and the second-poorest city in Lebanon after Beirut. CARE Lebanon runs a number of projects there. In Lebanon, which was a middle-income country until 2019, 82% of the population now lives in multidimensional poverty, with 24% living on less than USD 1.75 per day. 1 in 4 inhabitants is a refugee. In the Bab el-Tebbaneh district, Fatima is raising her five children with great difficulty. Her husband is ill. She does her best to find help to send her daughters and youngest son to school. The eldest works to support the family. Fatima doesn’t have a gas tank, so she cooks by burning branches outside her house. The children often go to school without having eaten. In Lebanon and throughout the world, CARE supports access to education for all. For almost 10 years, Air France Humanitarian Aid has been working alongside CARE in its fight against extreme poverty. Photo: Milad Ayoub/CARE CARE FRANCE INTERNATIONAL « Separating parents and children is often a delicate process, and even with the experience we’ve gained over the years, it’s a complex situation to manage and one that can be difficult to cope with. Aviation Without Borders volunteers must be able to adapt to any situation, and take into account many socio-cultural factors, including language barriers. In addition, some children don’t know how to use cutlery to eat or have never worn shoes before the day they leave. We need to make sure that the journey, which is an important transition between life before and life after, goes as smoothly as possible. » AVIATION Without BORDERS My name is Pham Quõc Tuãn and I’m 17 years old In what year did you hear about AuditionSolidarité? I learned about this organisation in 2015. What have hearing aids changed for you? Thanks to these devices, I’ve been able to hear better, speak better and study better. What exactly are you studying and where? I’m in 9th grade at Dõng Nai with the other normal hearing students. Do hearing aids help you follow the lessons? These devices help me to study better, listen better and speak better. What do you want to be when you grow up? Later, in the future, I’d like to take over the family business. We breed and sell swiftlets, the most precious bird in Vietnam. Anything to add? Thank you very much because, thanks to your help, I can listen better, speak better, study better and become a good adult afterwards. One last thing, can you show us your hearing aid? Cam on. (Thanks) AUDITION SOLIDARITE - Interview: Pham Quõc Tuãn SCROLL